Desperate Lives
by Fantastic-Charmed-4
Summary: Synopsis: Evil demons are running a slaughterhouse and the witches inside are lucky it arises to the charmed ones’ attention. Can they be saved?


Charmed

8.01: Desperate Lives Part 1

Synopsis: Evil demons are running a slaughterhouse and the witches inside are lucky it arises to the charmed ones' attention. Can they be saved?

Desperate Lives Desperate Housewives

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Piper Halliwell sighed and put the receipt in her purse. Her and her sisters, Phoebe Halliwell and Paige Matthews were usually attacked by demons and very rarely got a chance to treat themselves, but they hadn't been attacked for ages and Piper had decided to get some new clothes.

"Thank-you, Ms.Halliwell" the shop assistant said as Piper left the till. Once outside, Piper scanned the surrounding area and wandered which shop she should go to next. Bloomingdale's, Home Depot, Victoria's Secret, Williams Sonoma or Albertson's. Nothing seemed to attract her, so she headed for the exit.

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Phoebe Halliwell stared at the blank screen in front of her. She had been sitting in her office for hours, _What could I write? _She thought.

_Dear Ask Phoebe,_

_I've been having problems this week. My boyfriend had an affair with our maid and we've been fighting, should I take him back or leave him?_

_From Confused._

This was the letter that had been perplexing Phoebe for four hours. She let out a sigh, and moved the arrow on the screen to the shutdown button. She could finish her column tomorrow, but for now it was time to call it a night. She stood up and took her bag from the coffee table, checked the computer was off and left.

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Paige Matthews sat on the couch and watched Leo try and assemble some pieces of the table Piper had bought yesterday. She and Leo had not had anything to do, so they had gone to the cinema to watch: _The Phantom Of Life. _An action-thriller about the astral plane and a spirit getting revenge. It had made her think about the way there had been no demon attacks for a long time. _Could liven things up around here! _she thought.

_SLAM!_

Paige turned to see who had come through the door. Piper.

"Hey, so, what did you get?" Paige asked. Piper put the bags down and said:

"Don't worry, I got your boots."

"That's great!" Paige exclaimed as she rushed up to the bags and started rummaging through them. She eventually pulled out a blue box and opened the lid to reveal a pair of boots. They were made of black leather and had silver buckles on the front.

"Thanks so much." Piper ran a hand through her hair, smoothing it down.

"You now owe me $50." Piper said matter-of-factly.

"Okay, I'll pay you tomorrow." Paige was already slipping the shoes on her feet. Piper turned to look at her husband, Leo Wyatt.

"Any luck with the table?" she asked. He stopped fiddling with the pieces of wood and stood up straight.

"Well, I've made tables that are definitely easier than this." Piper's face was suddenly covered with the expression of guilt.

"Oh, did I buy the wrong kind of table?"

"No, honey." Leo reassured his wife. "From the image on the box, it looks like an absolutely lovely table, but it's just the instructions. They're not very clear."

"Oh, that's good." Piper said, obviously relived.

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Phoebe pulled into The Halliwell Manor's driveway and turned the key, causing the engine to die down. A light was on in the living room. _I wander who that could be? _She walked to the porch and opened the door.

"Hello?" Phoebe called out.

"In here!" was the reply. Phoebe identified this voice to be Piper's. When she got to the living room she sat on the arm of the couch, next to Paige.

"So, have you guys had a good day?" she queried.

"Yep." Piper said.

"Kind of." Paige and Leo said in unison.

"How about you?"

"My day has been hectic, I've been swarmed with letters and there is just _one_ that I cannot answer. I mean, I know there is an answer, but what?"

"Wow." Said Leo. "Looks like you had an interesting day." Phoebe looked at Leo, surprised.

"Why? Didn't you do anything?" she asked.

"Well, me and Leo went to the cinema to watch _The Phantom Of Life_, but that was it really." Paige chimed in. Phoebe put her hands on her knees.

"Oh my god, I really wanted to see that movie. Was it good?"

Paige nodded.

"You would love it.!"

"I like your boots." Phoebe told Paige.

"Oh, these?" Paige asked, raising her right leg and waggling her shoes in Phoebe's direction. "Piper got them for me today." Phoebe raised an eyebrow at Piper.

"Get me anything?"

Piper sighed. "No. No, I didn't get you anything, I only got those boots because Paige asked for them and besides, now she has to give me $50."

"I see." Phoebe said.

Paige glanced at the clock. It was only 7:30, but she was really tired.

"Well, you guys" she said straightening up. "I think I'm going to hit the sack, I know it's early, but I'm still going to." She left the room and started climbing the stairs. The last thing she saw was Phoebe occupying the empty seat she had left, reaching for the remote and flipping through the channels. The last thing she heard was:

"Leo, I hope you're not going to abandon that table."

"Piper, don't worry, sweetie, I _will_ get it done tomorrow if it bothers you that much."

……………………………………………………………………………...

Paige looked out the window at a beautiful, orange horizon. From when she had first saw the sunset it had entranced her. She got up from the bed and wandered over to the window and started pulling down the blind. Suddenly she felt a hand over her mouth. She couldn't call for help. The hand got tighter and she felt a sharp pain in her arm. A needle from a syringe. The chemical smelt and that was the only thing she remembered before she blacked out.

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"Paige? Paige?" Piper's voice rung throughout the manor and the only reply she got was silence. Paige hadn't come down to breakfast, so Piper had decide to check on her, when she saw Paige wasn't in her bedroom, she, Phoebe and Leo had been searching the house and outside. She wasn't anywhere to be seen upstairs, so she headed downstairs, in the hope that Leo had had better luck. When she saw Leo he looked glum.

"I guess you haven't found her?"

"Nope." Leo said. Phoebe came in through the front door.

"She is not in the garden, out the front or even down the street. She is well and truly missing." Phoebe stated.

"That's not good." Piper said nervously. After they had all got changed, they decided to work out what was going on in the kitchen.

"So, there had been no demon attacks for months and Paige suddenly disappears, don't you think that something evil is probably at work?" Leo asked.

"Probably." Said Piper.

"More like, definitely." Phoebe told them. All three of them, stared into space, making up their own theories of what had become of Paige, when all of a sudden a woman with a badly cut face, teleported in. She was gasping for air.

"The Old Warehouse, 72 Lumly Lane." She said. Then a demon flamed in behind her.

"Fool." he told her, engulfing her in flames. With one last look at Piper, Phoebe and Leo, he flamed out.

"Okay, what the hell was that?" Piper asked, turning to face her husband and sister.

Phoebe shrugged.

"I don't know. Do you think we should follow the address?"

TO BE CONTINUED…

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End file.
